On Thin Ice

June 1, 2019

Gr 4-7-Life is hard for seventh-grader Ked Easkins. First of all, he has a degenerative back condition that makes his spine curve. Because of this, he feels like he has lost his best friends Maps, Nephi, and Danny. He is endlessly harassed by a stereotypical bully character nicknamed Landrover. And if that isn't enough for a 13-year-old to endure, his father has just gambled away their rent money. Ked does not let his circumstances get him down for long. He buys the pieces of a sought-after minibike and hatches a plan to use the school's maker space to rebuild the bike in order to sell it. If this plan works, Ked and his dad won't have to move, yet again, to a more downsized place. At times, the odds seem in Ked's favor, but right when it looks like things will work out, they take a downward turn. The topic of bullying is addressed without seeming didactic, and Ked and Landrover end up in a survival situation that helps them understand and change their perspectives of each other. Eventually, Ked is able to fully come to terms with his disability to accept the friendships that have been waiting for him. VERDICT An engaging coming-of-age story; recommended for general purchase.-Jill Baetiong, Bloomingdale Public Library, IL

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2019
A boy with a rare spinal deformity makes a desperate bet to keep his home. "[E]verything you subtract adds up," 12-year-old Ked Eakins--aka "Freakins"--remarks, summarizing his life till seventh grade. After Ked was diagnosed with kyphosis, his mother left--taking her good job and health insurance with her--and his friendships dwindled like "a game of musical chairs." Now, Ked lives on "the edge of the edge" of "failing mill town" Norton, Maine, with his dad, who's had his factory shifts cut in half--and gambled two months' rent away. Frantic, Ked himself gambles on restoring and selling a minibike in time to avoid eviction, but roadblocks abound. Northrop depicts the everyday realities of poverty in unvarnished detail: Ked digs through trash cans for redeemable bottles, maximizes half-hour public-library computer sessions, and buys his "good" clothes on sale at the outlet stores. But Ked's pragmatism and determination keep bleakness at bay, and kindness comes from unexpected people. Like Ked's run-down hometown, his frank, introspective narration offers some beautiful moments; a carburetor, for instance, is "small and self-contained, like a heart." The author's portrayal of Ked's dad's gambling addiction and its toll on Ked is unflinching but not without hope. The ending is realistically satisfying, and readers will appreciate Ked's realization that his back is "what [he looks] like," but "[he's] what [he does.]" Most characters appear white; Ked's friend Nephi is a Somali immigrant. A sharp, sympathetic insight into poverty, family, friendship, and forgiveness. (Fiction. 8-12)

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June 1, 2019
Grades 4-7 Ked, 12, has a spinal condition that gives him a hunchback. and causes classmates like hulking Landrover to bully him. Like others in his economically depressed Maine mill town, Ked is poor; his mother is gone and his father gambles away their money. Smack in the middle of a pond in their town is a tower, and during the annual "thin ice days," townspeople bet on when it's going to fall. Ked's father needs to win his bet, otherwise they'll be evicted from their apartment. Meanwhile, Ked has his own plan to make a buck; it involves "borrowing" the rent money to repair and resell a broken-down minibike. He's counting on using the school's maker-space to repair the bike, but Landrover keeps thwarting his plans. The boys' conflict comes to a head when they find themselves in a dangerous life-or-death situation. This absorbing book realistically conveys middle-school dynamics while respectfully portraying the lives of working poor families. The relationships are complex, particularly between Ked and his father, with flawed but sympathetic characters.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)